This invention relates to receptacles for holding mail and similar objects.
Mail boxes have been used for a number of years, particularly in rural locations, to permit mailmen to deposit mail at an easily accessible location, for example close to the road way. A well known form of mail box comprises a sheet metal housing with flat vertical sides and a rounded top. Generally there is a hinged door located at one end of the housing that can be opened to permit the insertion of mail into the box. Often these boxes are mounted on a wooden or metal post that extends into the ground.
Some difficulties have been encountered with the commonly used mail box. One of these difficulties is that they can be easily damaged or removed from the post on which they are mounted as a result of severe weather conditions, accidents or vandalism. Because they are often located close to a roadway, it is fairly common for such a box to be bumped, accidently or otherwise, by a passing vehicle. In areas that receive a large amount of snow, it is not uncommon for mail boxes to be damaged by passing snow ploughs either as a result of direct contact by the plough or as a result of a large amount of snow being flung at the box.
Early U.S. Pat. No. 473,972 teaches a letter box that is mounted by bolts to a hollow post. The box is made of sheet metal and has flat vertical sides and a rounded top. Two ears are bent downwardly from the floor of the box and are used to connect the box to the top of the post by two bolts. One difficulty with this known arrangement is that it requires the use of a hollow post and the post must be of a predetermined size. In addition, the connection between the box and the post is not particularly strong.
U.S. Pat. No. 493,177 issued Mar. 7th, 1893 to F. H. McManigal describes an upright cylindrical letter box having a door in its side that is mounted on hinges. A downward extension of the box forms a hollow post that extends into the ground. This known mail receptacle has upper and lower compartments each with its own opening from the outside. One difficulty with this known box is that it would be reasonably expensive to construct and could be readily destroyed if accidently struck since it is made of cast metal.
Recent U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,621 issued Feb. 12, 1985 to Jeffrey S. Diamond describes a relatively complex mail box receptacle that is combined with a supporting post on which t forms an upper portion. A lateral opening is provided in the interior space above the floor and a tubular sleeve is coaxially rotatably mounted on the upper end region. This sleeve has a lateral opening which registers with the receptacle opening in one orientation of the sleeve. This known box is made from a plastics material.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a receptacle suitable for holding mail that is reasonably inexpensive to construct and that can be readily mounted to a commonly available wooden post. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a receptacle that can be mounted to a post without special tools and by unskilled personnel. The connection between the receptacle and the post can be made quite strong so that the receptacle is not likely to be inadvertently or accidently torn from its supporting post.